On Saturday, Dive BVI hosted its second 10k race as part of a two-race series leading up to the Virgin Gorda Half Marathon on May 17.
Maxford Pipe out sprinted Guy Williamson at the finish line to win the race for the first time over his rival.
“Normally any race that Guy [Williamson] is running, I run faster,” Mr. Pipe said. “I was looking forward to beating him.”
Throughout the race, Mr. Williamson followed close behind Mr. Pipe. It wasn’t until the last 50 metres that Mr. Pipe made his move and sprinted to victory.
“Maxford kept a great pace all the way through,” Mr. Williamson said. “He pushed it right to the end. It was a great race.”
Mr. Pipe, a Virgin Gorda resident, said his knowledge of the course helped him win the race.
However, it was Mr. Williamson’s first race on VG and said he misjudge where the finish line was.
The two recent 10k races have given runners a preview of the upcoming half marathon later this month. The first race, which will be the first half of the half marathon — consisted of several steep hills to Nail Bay and back to Spanish Town. Ravi Sukhu, who finished third on Saturday, won that race.
Mr. Pipe was unable to compete in the first race because he wasn’t “100 percent,” but plans to compete in the half marathon.
“Hopefully Guy will come across so we can have a quicker time,” Mr. Pipe said.
The second 10k race was held in The Valley.
“It was a really nice course,” Mr. Williamson said. “It is nice to have this competition between the islands. It keeps the bench mark for the races quite high and competitive.”
After the race, Mr. Pipe was wringing out his socks on the steps of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
Heavy rains during the race posed a challenge for the runner.
“The rain slowed us down,” Mr. Pipe said. “My shoes got heavy.”
While the rain plagued some runners, it was a relief for Joanne Singleton, who won the women’s division.
“I misjudged how hot and humid it is here,” Ms. Singleton said.
Ms. Singleton, a Chicago resident, and six other runner friends were staying at Little Dix Bay Resort for a friend’s wedding. They found the Dive BVI 10k on the Internet a week before making the trip here.
“We thought it was a great opportunity, because we are a bunch of runners,” Ed Novak, one of the visiting runners said. “Running, traveling and partying are three things we really like.”
Ms. Singleton wasn’t surprised about how competitive Saturday’s race was.
“I didn’t want to be this competitive, because I didn’t want to be this tired,” she said.
Mr. Novak had just competed in the Boston Marathon the previous week.
“It was really poignant being out there a year after the bombings,” Mr. Novak said. “Being out there seeing the crowd and seeing them embrace the runners — it was really cool. Boston strong really came through at that race, it was electric.”
He finished in fourth place on Saturday with a time of 44.38.” The group of visiting runners planned to go to The Baths and do some “partying” later that day.
Ms. Singleton almost didn’t get out of bed for Saturday’s race after a “long night.”
“I am glad I did,” Ms. Singleton said. “This race was amazing. Coming up over that first hill and seeing the bay with the sun peeking out — it is like all the pictures in the brochures you see for this place.”
The next running race is the Blenheim 5k on May 10 at 7 a.m.
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